Conquering Cravings – FIVE lifestyle tips

Following on from the 7 food-related tips that I shared in the last post about cravings, today I am going to suggest FIVE more things you can do to help to combat your food cravings that DON’T involve eating differently.

1. Get more sleep, rest and relaxation

When you are tired or stressed, your body will crave energy. The easiest and quickest source of energy is sugar. OR we look to get ‘borrowed’ energy by drinking caffeine-containing drinks. So cravings are often a result of being sleep-deprived as a result of broken sleep, going to bed late or waking up early. If poor sleep habits persist over time (we are talking months or even years here), a significant sleep debt can build up. This sort of chronic tiredness can take months to recover from. If you suffer from sugar or caffeine cravings try making good quality sleep a priority and see what impact it has.

2. Slow down and find sweetness in non-food ways!

Unlike fat, sugar is NOT an essential part of a balanced diet. But sometimes we crave it as a comfort when life isn’t sweet enough. Try finding other ways to add sweetness to your life, such as more hugs, time with friends, time outside in nature, workouts or massages. When life becomes sweet enough itself, no additives are needed!

3. Try Brushing your teeth immediately after you eat

If you don’t have the taste of food in your mouth you will find that you are less likely to crave something sweet after a savoury meal.

4. Try using a tongue scraper

Brushing your tongue with your toothbrush, or using a tongue scraper can also help with cravings by making your mouth super-clean.

5. Get physically active

As mentioned above, cravings can result from being tired. Exercise can help to balance your blood-sugar levels, boost your energy, and reduce tension. If you’re not accustomed to much exercise I suggest that you start with simple activities, like 10 minutes of walking or yoga each day. Commit to a regular, manageable exercise slot (even if its short), make it a habit and then start to gradually increase how active you are.

(Sources include – Get the Sugar Out: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Dietby Ann Louise Gittleman).

I find the topic of cravings fascinating. People crave all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons. The advice contained in these blog posts is designed to get you thinking about what small changes you might make to begin to feel more in charge of your dietary decisions and less at the mercy of your cravings. If you’re interested in digging deeper into this topic you might be interested in joining a special FREE webinar that I am holding on May 1st (see below)

*** JOIN THIS FREE WEBINAR all about CRAVINGS on May 1st 2014 at 8pm London time (for more info and to sign up click here) I’ll be sending out a recording after the event so even if you can’t make it live, its still worth signing up! ***

If you need some support in tackling cravings and your relationship with food, you might benefit from one-to-one health coaching sessions – see here for more info.

What are your biggest challenges in coping with cravings? I’d love to hear from you – please share in the comments below. I promise to read every single one!

Better than any book you can read …. Annabel is honest and clear about whats important to me as an individual, my current lifestyle and how I can make the best choices for myself

Sarah, business owner and busy mum

With her guidance and without any faddy dieting, I have achieved my personal goals (weight loss, more energy, stress management) and look forward to being fitter and stronger than I have been in long time.

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Dr Annabel Boys is a certified Health Coach and Body Stress Release Practitioner, with a PhD in health behaviour, who seeks to help clients make sustainable changes to improve their health. She is not a qualified medical doctor or medical practitioner. Information and advice offered on this website is intended to provide general information only and should not be used as a substitute for medical advice. Always consult your doctor or healthcare professional before beginning anything new. Dr Annabel Boys, so far as permissible by law, assumes no responsibility or liability for any consequence resulting directly or indirectly for any action or inaction you take based on the information, services, or material on or linked to this site. Any links to external websites are provided as a courtesy, and should not be construed as an endorsement by Dr Annabel Boys of the content or views of the linked materials.
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